


everything you're feeling is common (even though you never felt so alone)

by celestialsunshine



Series: Kyouhaba Week 2016 [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bullying, Fluff, M/M, Soulmate AU, a bit ooc but i wanted to show a different side to kyoutani, iwaizumi is a respectable senpai, kind of implied/referenced verbal abuse??, kyoutani's dad and extended family are rude to him but there's nothing graphic, kyoutani's mom is a blessing, light angst i suppose, oikawa needs to stop meddling in other people's business, there's a happy ending don't worry, watari is also a blessing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 10:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7263601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialsunshine/pseuds/celestialsunshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"you have your enemy's name on one wrist and soulmate's on the other" soulmates au</p><p>kyouhaba week 2016. day 7 - free prompt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	everything you're feeling is common (even though you never felt so alone)

**Author's Note:**

> obviously it's only day 3 and this is the prompt for day 7, but it says in the rules that you don't have to upload your work on the designated day, and i figured i might get more fics done if i upload this now.
> 
> the title is from rhode island by the front bottoms.
> 
> please let me know if there's any warnings i should add to the tags!!

Kyoutani Kentarou was a freak.

Well, that's what the kids said. The adults tended to call him an 'anomaly', in hushed voices with hesitant glances over at him. In a world where everyone has their soulmate's name on one wrist and their enemy's on the other, a person with the same name on both wrists does not easily go unnoticed, especially in a neighbourhood as rough as Kentarou's.

'Freak' was not the only harsh insult thrown at him. He had been the subject of their taunts from a young age. He remembers being only a child and conversing excitedly with the other children from the street as usual, when the topic of soulmates and enemies was brought up. At this stage, Kentarou was proud of being different to the other kids. His mother told him that he was special because he was not like everyone else, and he believed her. (His father did not say the same. He never talked about how Kentarou was special. Kentarou wondered why.)  
Since he was young and innocent and had listened intently to his mother, he jumped at the chance to show off how he had the same name written twice. But the other children did not think he was special. They asked, in disgust, if that was a boy's name. Kentarou just shrugged, wondering out loud if it mattered. His friends sure seemed to think that it was important. They told him that he should not have the name of another boy - especially not as both his enemy _and_ soulmate! They showed him theirs. They each had a pretty-sounding girl's name on one wrist, and an entirely different name on the other. Kentarou repeated what his mother had told him about being dissimilar to everyone else. The young children just scoffed at him, and started to call him such horrible things. Kentarou was certain that he would have fought them, if his mother had not come out of his house to call him in for dinner before he or another boy could throw any punches. He sprinted towards his house and did not look back. He did not go outside to play with those boys any longer. 

That evening, at the dinner table, he asked his mother if he really was a freak. There were tears in her eyes as she shook her head and hugged him tight, making him promise to not listen to those nasty boys. Kentarou agreed, although he wondered why it upset her so much. 

The kids that were present that day must have told all their other friends, because before he knew it, Kentarou was being glared at and shouted at by children he didn't even know as he walked to school. It didn't really affect him that much. He thought that it was just normal child behaviour, that they needed some way to express their emotions. He accepted all the slurs thrown at him without protest, and learned not to fight back. Even though it didn't affect him as much as it probably should have, it still hurt when his family shunned him, and showed their pity and sympathy for his parents, since they had to raise such a 'difficult child'. His father agreed with them, but his mother would always assure them that Kentarou was the best child she could wish for and that she was so lucky to have him. That would make him smile to himself as he silently watched TV in the corner alone, since his cousins refused to go anywhere near him. 

Calling him the 'family disgrace' was an incredibly cruel thing for those adults to do, but at least he had his mother by his side, encouraging him, and promising him that he was the most important person in the world to her.

By the time Kentarou reached high school, he was not as naïve as he had been, and he had learned to hide his wrists from view, although sometimes it was unavoidable.  
He was quite anxious about his first day at high school, but he still had his mother's support. Before he left, she hugged him like she had that day when he first found out that he was 'weird'. 

His first day went better than he expected. He didn't make any _friends_ , as such, although the boy with the shaved head that he sat next to in English was quite friendly, and the girl he sat next to in Maths smiled at him and introduced herself. And if anyone noticed the names on his wrists, they didn't point it out. He began to think that maybe this could be a fresh start for him, as the school he was attending was some distance away from his neighbourhood and none of the other teenage residents went to the same school.  
It was not until the second week of the school year that his worries returned, and things were worse this time.

He started heard rumours of another boy in his year with the same name on both wrists - and a boy's name too. From then on, Kentarou was sure to keep his sleeves over his hands at all times. 

He decided to join the volleyball club. It had been an interest of his since he was a child, and he had heard that there was a very talented setter at this school.  
The only con was that his secret may be discovered, but he figured he could just wear a jumper or something. It would be okay, he assured himself.  
It did not go that well.

Of course, there were several other first years looking to join the volleyball club. The boy that sat next to him in English class was there with a boy with tidy brown hair that had his hands in his pockets, and he waved Kentarou over to them.  
Watari, as Kentarou had discovered he was called, had invited him to join him and his friend at lunch a few times, but Kentarou always declined. He preferred to eat by himself, although he still appreciated that Watari was a kind person.

Watari smiled at him when Kentarou joined them, and introduced his friend as Yahaba. Kentarou's eyes widened as he recognised the name instantly. That was the name on both of his wrists, and also the name of the boy at this school that was apparently in the same situation as him. Kentarou nodded at him as Yahaba grinned back, and he was very grateful to Watari when he turned the conversation to volleyball.

Volleyball tryouts could have gone a lot better. Not that Kentarou didn't play well, because he did, he knew he did, but because of Yahaba. As Yahaba was setting the ball at one point, Kentarou caught a glimpse of his wrist, and his suspicions were confirmed. It was his name that was written there for sure.  
At the end of tryouts, Kentarou changed as quickly as possible and left without saying goodbye to anyone. He did not attend volleyball practice or speak to Yahaba Shigeru until the next year.

During his second year of high school, his mother encouraged him to join the volleyball team again. He did as she said, to make her happy.  
He regretted it as soon as he arrived.

Oikawa Tooru may have be talented, but he was certainly very irritating. Kentarou could not imagine how Iwaizumi put up with him.  
Yahaba did not like Kentarou. Kentarou pretended that he did not care, although he wished that they could be friends. They _were_ soulmates, after all. (But they were still destined to be enemies too.)

During a fateful match against Karasuno, Kentarou managed to piss Yahaba off enough for the latter to shove him against a wall and lecture him. Kentarou tried to ignore how fast his heart was beating and the blush on his cheeks. He played better after that. Yahaba seemed to appreciate it.  
On the bus back home after their loss, Yahaba decided to sit next to him, which Kentarou was definitely not prepared for. Yahaba smiled at him although his eyes were still visibly red, and told him that he played well. Kentarou muttered out a thanks. They did not speak any more for the rest of the journey as Yahaba fell asleep, much to Kentarou's disappointment.

After that began the discussions of who would become the new captain and vice-captain of the team after the third years left. Everyone agreed that Yahaba was the obvious choice, with Watari as his vice-captain. Yahaba acted like he didn't think it was that much of a big deal, but Kentarou could tell that he was unbelievably proud. Maybe it was some kind of soulmate telepathy.

Speaking of soulmates, everyone (including Yahaba, and maybe even Kentarou himself) still considered them to be enemies, and Kentarou secretly despised it. He had admitted to himself that he did have a crush on Yahaba (it had begun to get more and more difficult to ignore the way his heart raced whenever Yahaba was near him), and he just wished that Yahaba would accept that despite the fact that they were meant to be enemies, they were still fated romantic soulmates.

Of course, Oikawa just had to make their enemies/soulmates situation his business, and he sent Iwaizumi to go talk to Kentarou.  
Iwaizumi was probably the only senpai that he respected. He was on the fence about Hanamaki and Matsukawa, and Oikawa was just plain annoying. Oikawa must have had Kentarou's opinions of the third years in mind when he devised his plan.  
"Kyoutani? Could I speak to you after practice?" It wasn't like he had a choice.  
"Thanks for waiting. Look, I'm just going to say it. I know you and Yahaba are soulmates - and enemies. Don't get mad at me, I'm just trying to help. You guys should talk - and I don't mean yell at each other and shove each other against walls or whatever you do usually. Have a proper conversation. You guys are soulmates for a reason. Just, think about it, okay? Good luck, Kyoutani."  
Iwaizumi patted his shoulder before he left. Kentarou considered his words. What Iwaizumi didn't understand was that Kentarou _wanted_ to talk to Yahaba. A lot. Yahaba just didn't want to talk to him.  
Or so he thought.

Yahaba approached him at lunch a few days later. "Kyoutani, here you are! I was looking for you. Can we talk?"  
Kentarou nodded furiously as he felt his face heat up.  
Yahaba flopped down next to him, throwing his bag on the ground. "Oikawa-san came to talk to me. He told me that Iwaizumi-san was talking to you."  
Kentarou confirmed that this was true.  
"I thought that Oikawa-san made a good point. He said that we may be enemies, but there's no reason why we should disregard the fact that we're soulmates as well, since love is stronger than hate."  
Kentarou internally thanked every otherworldly deity for Oikawa Tooru. Yahaba shuffled over closer to him. "Do you agree?"  
Kentarou voiced the fact that he most certainly _did_ agree.  
Yahaba grinned at him. Kentarou wondered how he was managing to survive in Yahaba's presence.  
"I'm glad you agree. But maybe jumping into the whole soulmates thing right now would be a bit sudden...do you think we could be friends first?"  
Kentarou nodded and smiled brightly at him. Yahaba leaned over and hugged him tightly, before standing up and declaring that they should get to class.  
Kentarou found himself pretty much only thinking about Yahaba for the rest of the day, reflecting on how he smelled faintly like lavender. He could hardly believe how much he cared about this boy. 

He told his mother all about it while they were watching TV that evening. She informed him that she was very proud of him, and that she was glad his soulmate seemed to be such a nice boy.  
For once, Kentarou was glad that he was different, enemy/soulmate-wise. If he was not in this rare situation, he would never have been lead to Yahaba Shigeru, and the fact that Yahaba is his soulmate was something he was incredibly grateful for.

 

Kyoutani Kentarou is not a freak.

Well, that's what his soulmate says. His soulmate tends to call him his 'favourite person', with shining eyes and an adoring smile that Kentarou has come to love. In a world where everyone has their soulmate's name on one wrist and their enemy's on the other, a person with the same name on both wrists does not easily go unnoticed - but with Shigeru as his destined soulmate, Kentarou doesn't really care what anyone else has to say.


End file.
